A total of 20 individuals were arrested by federal authorities on Thursday after being accused of operating “birth tourism” businesses which essentially sold birthright American citizenship to pregnant Chinese women looking to permanently stay in the United States.

California resident Dongyuan Li — along with 19 others — was arrested by federal officials for operating her business called “You Win USA” that allegedly brought pregnant Chinese women to the country for anywhere between $40,000 to $80,000 to have their children in America in order to secure them birthright U.S. citizenship, according to the Associated Press (AP).

AP - Reports

The AP reports:

The birth tourism businesses allegedly brought hundreds of pregnant Chinese women to the U.S. so they could have their children on American soil and thus be forever anchored in the country.

Children - Nationals - Anchor - Babies - Anchor

The U.S.-born children of foreign nationals are commonly known as “anchor babies.” There are at least 4.5 million anchor babies in the country, a population that exceeds the total number of annual American births, as about 300,000 anchor babies are born every year, exceeding the total number of American births in 48 states. Currently, the U.S. and Canada are the only developed nations in the world that offer unrestricted birthright citizenship.

The 20 individuals arrested by federal authorities for operating and being involved in the birth tourism companies have been hit with visa fraud and money laundering...